Bihar Governor R S Gavai, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and Indian Centre for Cultural Relations Chairman Karan Singh also attended the inaugural function.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do a repeat of his Madison Square Garden act during his next month's visit to China
The PM on Tuesday officially announced his visit to China from May 14 to 16.
Buoyed by his visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat, Chinese President Xi Jinping in a reciprocal gesture invited him to his hometown Xi'an, where the famous Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang spent his last years after his return from India some 2,000 years ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Xian on a three-day visit to China during which he will hold summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a range of issues including the festering border dispute and China's plans for infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Universities must be the bastions of free speech and expression. It must be the arena where diverse and conflicting schools of thought contend. There should be no room for intolerance, prejudice and hatred within the spaces of this institution. Further, it must act as flag-bearer for the coexistence of multiple views, thoughts and philosophies, says Pranab Mukherjee.
Top Indian and Chinese officials on Tuesday finalised President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to India, including the programme and key issues to be discussed, amid indications that he may begin his tour in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat on September 16.
Hometown diplomacy mixed with a Silk Road touch is expected be part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's reciprocal gesture when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits China before end of May.
While the two sides' objectives may appear to differ, it is clear that both India and China are emphasising on the common minimum possible areas of cooperation between them, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Modi, who is undertaking his first visit to China as prime minister, will reach the ancient city of Xi'an, the home town of President Xi Jinping, for a summit meeting, an unusual departure from normal protocol and seen as a reciprocal gesture by the Chinese leader who was hosted by Modi in Ahmedabad when he visited India in September last year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special interaction with Chinese media persons in New Delhi on the eve of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping where he summarized the possibilities of Sino-India bilateral ties.
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